Camera module

ABSTRACT

A camera module is provided, the camera module including a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) mounted with an image sensor; a holder member mounted on the PCB, a lens module screw-connected to the holder member, an actuator mounted at an upper surface of the lens module, and arranged at a position lower than an upper surface of the holder member, and an electronic circuit pattern formed on a surface of the holder member to conductibly connect the PCB and the actuator, where one end of the electronic circuit pattern is connected to the PCB, and the other end of the electronic circuit pattern is connected to the actuator.

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119 (a), this application claims the benefit ofearlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 10-2012-0083028, filed on Jul. 30, 2012, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of Endeavor

The teachings in accordance with exemplary and non-limiting embodimentsof this disclosure relate generally to a camera module.

2. Background

In a case an auto focusing operation is carried out in a conventionalcamera module, an AF (Auto Focus) terminal and a PCB AF pad must beconductibly connected to drive an actuator, which is disadvantageouslysusceptible to shock.

Particularly, development of a camera module configured to maintain anauto focusing function and handshake compensation function, and yet tominimize a height of the camera module is required by a user needs to aslimmer camera module installed on small-sized electronic products suchas notebooks, smart phones and tablet personal computers.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Exemplary and non-limiting embodiments of this disclosure are to providea structure-improved camera module configured to maintain an autofocusing function and handshake compensation function, and yet tominimize a height of the camera module.

In one general aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided acamera module, the camera module comprising: a PCB (Printed CircuitBoard) mounted with an image sensor;

a holder member mounted on the PCB;

a lens module screw-connected to the holder member;

an actuator mounted at an upper surface of the lens module, and arrangedat a position lower than an upper surface of the holder member; and

an electronic circuit pattern formed on a surface of the holder memberto conductibly connect the PCB and the actuator, where one end of theelectronic circuit pattern is connected to the PCB, and the other end ofthe electronic circuit pattern is connected to the actuator.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the other endof the electronic circuit pattern may be connected to the actuator via aconductive epoxy.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the other endof the electronic circuit pattern may be connected to a terminal formedat the lens module and to a first connection unit, to thereby beconductible with the actuator.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminalmay be provided with a first terminal and a second terminal, each of thefirst and second terminals being applied with an electric power ofmutually different polarity.

In a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminalmay be connected to the actuator and a second connection unit.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, each of thefirst and second connection units may be a conductive epoxy.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, each of thefirst and second connection units may be symmetrically formed relativeto an optical axis.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the electroniccircuit pattern may be formed at a lateral surface of the holder member,at an upper surface of the holder member, or on at least one of thelateral surface and the upper surface of the holder member.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, each of theelectronic circuit patterns formed at the upper surface of the holdermember may take a shape of an arc and is symmetrically formed.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, two to fourelectronic circuit patterns may be provided, each layer having a shapeof an arc.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the lens modulemay be screw-connected to an inner surface of the holder member.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the cameramodule may further comprise a shield can wrapping the lateral surfaceand the upper surface of the holder member.

In a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, aninsulation member may be interposed between the shield can and theholder member.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a diameter ofthe actuator may be configured smaller than that of the lens module.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the lens modulemay include one or more lenses, and at least two terminals, one end ofwhich is connected to the actuator, and the other end of which isconnected to the electronic circuit pattern.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the electroniccircuit pattern may be divided into four arcs at the upper surface ofthe holder member, each arc selectively connected to an anode terminalor to a cathode terminal.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the actuatormay include any one of a MEMS (Micro Electric Mechanical System)actuator moved by using an electrostatic force and a piezoelectricforce, a liquid crystal lens, a piezoelectric polymer lens, a non-MEMSactuator, a silicon type actuator, and a liquid lens, or a combinationof at least two such actuators.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the actuatormay perform an auto focusing function or a handshake compensationfunction through changes in thickness or shape of a fixed lens orchanges in refractive indexes of incident light.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the actuatormay be installed at a position lower than an extreme upper end of theholder member.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the PCB mayinclude first to four terminals configured to supply an anode power or acathode power to the electronic circuit pattern, and the first/thirdterminals, and the second/fourth terminals are supplied with electricpower of same polarity, while the first/second terminals and thethird/fourth terminals are supplied with electric power of mutuallydifferent polarities.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have an advantageouseffect in that handshake compensation function and auto focusingfunction can be performed by changes in refractive indexes of incidentlight and changes in thickness or shapes of fixed lens, free fromhorizontal, vertical and tilting movement of a lens, and a height of acamera module can be reduced to enable a miniaturization of the cameramodule.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a camera moduleaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a part in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plane view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plane view illustrating a PCB according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an actuatoraccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a camera moduleaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2is an enlarged view of a part in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plane view of FIG.1, FIG. 4 is a schematic plane view illustrating a PCB according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 5 is aschematic perspective view illustrating an actuator according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the camera module according to the exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure includes a PCB (10), a holdermember (20), a lens module (30) and an actuator (40).

The PCB (10) may include an image sensor (11), a terminal (12) and acontroller. The image sensor (11) reads an image from outside. Theterminal (12) may be conductively connected to an electronic circuitpattern (100, described later). Furthermore, the terminal (12) mayinclude first to four terminals (12 a-12 d) each being supplied with anelectric power of mutually different polarities, and may becircuit-connected to anode terminals (13 a, 14 b) and cathode terminals(13 b, 14 a) that are installed at a surrounding of the terminal (12).The controller may be mounted on a surface of the PCB (10) to outputdata and control signals of the image sensor (11) and the actuator (40).

Referring to FIG. 1, the holder member (20) is formed at an approximatecenter inner surface with a through hole formed with a screw thread, andthe lens module (30) is screw-connected to the through hole. That is,the camera module according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure is a focusing type camera module. Thus, lenses mounted on thelens module (30) are adjustable in focus positions relative to the imagesensor (11) as the lens module (30) is screw-connected, and the positionof the lens module (30) can be fixed when the focus is adjusted.

Turning to FIG. 1 again, the holder member (20) may be formed at anupper surface with a protrusion for protecting the actuator (40). Theheight of protrusion may be higher than that of the actuator (40). Asurface of the holder member (20) may be formed with an electroniccircuit pattern (100) conductibly connected to the actuator (40) and thePCB (10). Also, the electronic circuit pattern (100) can be anelectronic circuit pattern.

The electronic circuit pattern (100) is so formed as to allow thesurface of the holder member (20) to have a wiring pattern, and may beinstalled on any one of a lateral surface and an upper surface of theholder member (20). The electronic circuit pattern (100) may beinstalled on both the lateral surface and the upper surface of theholder member (20) as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The electronic circuit pattern (100) may be formed using the so-calledsurface electrode pattern forming technology, or may be formed by insertinjection molding of metal-materialed wiring members.

A distal end of the electronic circuit pattern (100) is connected to thePCB (10), and the other opposite distal end of the electronic circuitpattern (100) is conductively connected to the actuator (40). Thus, theactuator (40) and the PCB (10) may be conductively connected by theelectronic circuit pattern (100).

The surface electrode pattern forming technology may be categorized intothree methods.

A first method is a patterning method using a dual forming, where a partforming the holder member (20) and a part forming the electronic circuitpattern (100) are injection molded using mutually different syntheticresins. That is, the part of the holder member (20) is injection-moldedusing an insulation material, while the part for forming the electroniccircuit pattern (100) is injection molded with a conductible syntheticresin, or with a metal plating-easy synthetic resin, and the electroniccircuit pattern (100) is completed by using a post processing such aselectroplating.

The second method is such that the holder member (20) is injectionmolded with impurities reactive to heat and light included, and anexposed lateral wall surface to be formed with the electronic circuitpattern (100) is laser-exposed via a surface patterning process to theinjection-molded holder member (20) such as laser lithography to formthe electronic circuit pattern (100) thereon. If the electronic circuitpattern (100) is formed by the above method, SMDs (surface-mountdevices) or electronic accessory parts can be directly mounted becausethe electronic circuit pattern (100) itself has a conductible property.

Meanwhile, the third method is a patterning method by etchingnon-circuit part after metalizing an entire surface. That is, the thirdmethod is a method in which an entire surface is metalized, where anentire surface of the holder member (20) is metalized to form theelectronic circuit pattern (100) on the exposed surface. That is, onlythe part to be formed with the electronic circuit pattern (100) remainsuntouched while the remaining part is etched to allow the electroniccircuit pattern (100) to be integrally formed on the surface of theholder member (20).

Meanwhile, the electronic circuit pattern (100) provided by the abovesurface electrode pattern forming technology is formed on the exposedsurface of the holder member (20). However, the present disclosure isnot limited thereto, and the electronic circuit pattern (100) may beformed both on the exposed external surface of the holder member (20)and on the non-exposed internal surface of the holder member (20), orformed on any one of exposed or non-exposed surface. This is to selectthe arrangement of the electronic circuit pattern (100) on a singlesurface or a double surface according to wiring requirement forcomponent mounting. Hence, if there is a need to mount a large number ofelectronic components, an exterior surface of the holder member (20) andan interior surface are also formed by the above methods with theelectronic circuit pattern (100) to which components can be mounted.

Meanwhile, the connection through mechanism or equipment of insertmethod may be possible, instead of forming the electronic circuitpattern (100) using the above surface electrode pattern formingtechnology. That is, the insert injection may be used when the holdermember (20) is injection molded for metal-materialed terminal member forforming the electronic circuit pattern (100).

If the electronic circuit pattern (100) is thus formed on the surface ofthe holder member (20), there is no need of preparing a separateconnection member such as a PCB as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4.

That is, the actuator (40) and a terminal (12) of the PCB (10) areconnected to the electronic circuit pattern (100) formed on the surfaceof the holder member (20) using a solder. The opposite surface isdirectly connected by first and second terminals (42, 43) (see FIGS. 1and 3) connected to the actuator (40) using a conductive member such asa soldering, whereby a space for installing components can be reducedfor easy application to miniaturized electronic products, and assemblyprocess can be simplified to enhance the reliability as well.

A distal end of the electronic circuit pattern (100) may be conductiblyconnected to the terminal (12) installed on the PCB (11), and the otherdistal end of the electronic circuit pattern (100) may be conductiblyconnected to the first and second terminals (42, 43) connected to theactuator (40). At this time, the electronic circuit pattern (100) may beconnected to the terminal (12) and the actuator (40) respectively usinga solder or a conductive epoxy such as AG epoxy. The connectingstructure will be described later.

A center of the lens module (30) is sequentially arranged with at leastone sheet of lenses to capture an outside image toward the image sensor(11) side, and is screw-connected to a center of the holder member (20)using a separate component. A peripheral surface of the lens module (30)may be formed with a screw thread (30 a) and an inner circumferentialsurface of the holder member (20) may be formed with a holder screwthread (20 a) to be screw-connected to the screw thread (30 a). It istherefore possible to adjust a focus between the plurality of lenses andthe image sensor (11) when the lens module (30) is assembled using thestructure thus mentioned.

The lens module (30) may be arranged at an upper surface with theactuator (40). At this time, the actuator (40) may be installed on anyone of an upper surface of a first lens (31) and an upper surface of thelens module (30) and an upper surface of the holder member. In a casethe actuator (40) is fixed to the upper surface of the first lens (31),the first and second terminals (42, 43) are arranged on the first lens(31), and in a case the actuator (40) is fixed to the lens module (30),the first and second terminals (42, 43) are arranged at an upper surfaceof the lens module, and in a case the actuator (40) is fixed to theholder member (20), the first and second terminals (42, 43) are arrangedat an upper surface of the holder member (20).

The lens module (30) may be installed with a separate optical mechanismsuch as a shutter unit or an aperture, if necessary. That is, the lensmodule (30) may be sequentially arranged with at least one or moresheets of lenses, and in a case two sheets of lenses are arranged insidethe lens module (30), an optical mechanism formed by the aperture andthe shutter unit may be arranged at a space between two sheets oflenses, at a space between the lenses and the actuator (40), or at anupper surface of an extreme outer lens of the lenses, or at a bottomsurface of the lens. This arranged relationship may be changed inresponse to a product design and configuration of camera unit.

The lens module (30) may be screw-connected to an inside of the holdermember (20) so as not to be protruded. In this case, an approximatecenter of the holder member (20) is concavely formed, and an innersurface of the concave portion is screw-connected by the lens module(30). At this time, the actuator (40) fixed to the upper surface of thelens module (30) may be also arranged at the concave portion of theholder member (20). Thus, the actuator (40) can be rotated along withthe lens module (30) in association with the rotating operation of thelens module (30).

At this time, the electronic circuit pattern (100) is formed at thelateral surface and the upper surface of the holder member (20) and theinner circumferential surface of the center concave proximity. At thistime, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the electronic circuit pattern (100) maybe provided with at least four divided circles on the upper surface ofthe holder member (20). The connecting structure thereof will bedescribed later.

Meanwhile, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, according to the exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure, the lens module (30) may bescrew-connected to an inner surface of the holder member (20), and theelectronic circuit pattern (100) may be also formed at a wall surface(21) opposite to the lens module (30). Although not illustrated, theelectronic circuit pattern (100) may be replaced with a metal-materialedcircuit member, and may be integrally insert injection molded when thecircuit member is injection molded with the holder member (20).

Various structures may be used for the actuator (40). For example, asillustrated in FIG. 5, the actuator (40) may include a terminal unit (40a) and a variable lens (40 b). At this time, the actuator (40) is fixedand needs no movement. The actuator (40) may take various shapesincluding a circular shape and a doughnut shape in addition to thesquare shape illustrated in FIG. 5.

The terminal unit (40 a) may be installed at any one place of an uppersurface, a floor surface, a lateral surface and a surface extended froman upper surface to a lateral surface. The terminal unit (40 a) isconductively connected to the electronic circuit pattern (100), and maybe conductively connected to the electronic circuit pattern (100)through a first connection unit (41) formed with a conductible memberincluding a conductible epoxy such as a solder and an Ag epoxy accordingto the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

The variable lens (40 b) is arranged at an approximate center of theactuator (40) to allow light including an image to pass therethrough.The variable lens (40 b) may be formed in a convex shape. The variablelens (40 b) is changeable in refractive index in response to a controlsignal of a predetermined controller, whereby the light including theimage can change a focusing position captured by the image sensor (11).At this time, the variable lens (40 b) may be configured with an LC(Liquid crystal) lens, a liquid lens or a piezoelectric polymer lens.

The actuator (40) may be fixed to the upper surface of the first lens(31) of the lens module (30), or to the upper surface of the lens module(30). The actuator (40) automatically adjusts the focus of an imagecaptured on the image sensor (11).

Turning to FIG. 1 again, a width of the actuator (40) may be formedsmaller than that of the holder member (20). However, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto, and albeit not being shown in FIG. 1,the actuator (40) may have a width corresponding to that of an uppersurface of the holder member (20). In this case, the width of theactuator (40) preferably has a width smaller than that of the uppersurface of the holder member (20) for miniaturization of the cameramodule.

Furthermore, the upper surface of the actuator (40) may be lower than anextreme upper end of the holder member (20). That is, the holder member(20) is concavely formed at a central proximity installed by the lensmodule (30) and the concave portion is arranged with the lens module(30) and the actuator (40), whereby the lens module (30) and theactuator (40) can be protected by the holder member (20).

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, theupper surface of the actuator (40) may be installed lower than theextreme upper end of the holder member (20). Furthermore, a diameter ofthe actuator (40) may be smaller than that of the lens module (30), butthe present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the diameter theactuator (40) may be greater than that of the lens module (30).

In a case the diameter of the actuator (40) may be smaller than that (ofthe lens module (30), the terminal unit (40) may be formed on a floorsurface of the actuator (40) to be connected to the first and secondterminals (432, 43) installed at the upper surface of the lens module(30) or an upper surface of the first lens (31).

That is, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, in a case the actuator (40) isfixed to the upper surface of the first lens (31), the upper surface ofthe first lens (31) is formed with the first and second terminals (42,43), and the terminal unit (40 a) of the actuator (40) is conductivelyconnected to the first and second terminals (42, 43) directly or via amethod using a soldering.

Furthermore, the actuator (40) may be installed at an upper surface ofthe lens module (30), and in this case, the first and second terminals(42, 43) may be arranged at the upper surface of the lens module (30) tobe conductively connected to the terminal unit (40 a) of the actuator(40).

Meanwhile, the first and second terminals (42, 43) rotate along with thelens module (30) in association with rotating operation of the lensmodule (30), because the first and second terminals (42, 43) areinstalled at the upper surface of the lens module (30), or the uppersurface of the first lens (31).

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, thefirst and second terminals (42, 43) may be diagonally arranged. That is,the first and second terminals (42, 43) need to be connected in a wiringpattern of an anode (+) and a cathode (−) for control of the actuator(40), where, in a case the lens module (30) is screw-connected to theholder member (20), there is no knowing which position the first andsecond terminals (42, 43) are to be stopped at.

Hence, as illustrated in FIG. 3, in a case the first and secondterminals (42, 43) are diagonally arranged, the first and secondterminals (42, 43) may be correspondingly connected one-on-one, on aninstalled position of the lens module (30), to the quarterly-dividedupper surface of the electronic circuit pattern (100).

Alternatively, albeit not being illustrated, the first and secondterminals (42, 43) may not be diagonally arranged, but may be arrangedin various shapes including a ‘V’ shape to correspond one-on-one to thequarterly-divided upper surface of the electronic circuit pattern (100).The arrangement may be variably changed according to design of thecamera module.

The first and second terminals (42, 43) may be connected to an anode anda cathode respectively. For example, in a case the first terminal (42)is connected to the anode, the second terminal (43) may be connected thecathode, and in a case the first terminal (42) is connected to thecathode, the second terminal (43) may be connected the anode. Theelectronic circuit pattern (100) connected to the first and secondterminals (42, 43) are respectively connected to an anode terminal (13a) and a cathode terminal (14 a) at an opposite distal end of the aportion connected to the first and second terminals (42, 43), in orderto allow the first and second terminals (42, 43) to be connected to theanode and the cathode, the detail of which will be described later.

Furthermore, a distal end of the first and second terminals (42, 43) maybe connected to the electronic circuit pattern (100) and a firstconnection unit (41), and an opposite end may be connected to theactuator (40) and a second connection unit (44).

The first and second terminals (42, 43) may be formed on the uppersurface of the first lens (31) by being coated with a conductivematerial, and may be formed by being inserted when a metal member isformed with the first lens (31). Alternatively, the first and secondterminals (42, 43) may be provided on the first lens (31) using thesurface electrode pattern forming technology as in the electroniccircuit pattern (100). The first and second terminals (42, 43) may beprovided with a conductive material such as an Ag epoxy, a solder or aconductive epoxy.

In a case the first and second terminals (42, 43) are diagonallyarranged, the first and second connection units (41, 44) may be arrangedon mutually symmetrical positions about an optical axis, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto, and an arranged relation of the firstand second connection units (41, 44) may be variable according to designof camera module and positions of the first and second terminals (42,43).

Meanwhile, albeit not being illustrated, the actuator (40) may bedirectly connected to the electronic circuit pattern (100) using an Agepoxy, a solder or a conductive epoxy, free from with the first andsecond terminals (42, 43).

Various structures may be used for the actuator (40). According to theexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the actuator (40) may beprovided with a configuration controlling a sheet of variable lens, andat this time, the actuator (40) is fixed and needs no movement. At thistime, the variable lens may be configured with an LC (Liquid crystal)lens, a liquid lens or a piezoelectric polymer lens.

At this time, an area opposite to the image sensor (11) of the lensmodule (30) may be installed with an infrared cut-off member (22), or aninfrared cut-off coating may be applied to the variable lens instead ofinstalling a separate infrared cut-off filter.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, according to the exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the infrared cut-off member (22) may be provided ata bottom surface of an extreme rear lens of the lens module (30), butthe present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the infraredcut-off member (22) may be provided at the first lens (31) of the lensmodule (30), if necessary, and may be interposed among the plurality oflenses installed at the lens module (30). Alternatively, the lenses maybe coated, or an existing infrared cut-off member may be installed at aninner surface of a space. That is, any one surface of the lenses may becoated, or a separate infrared cut-off member may be used.

Although the abovementioned exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure has illustrated and explained that the actuator (40) formedwith a variable lens is provided to perform the auto focusing and/orhandshake compensating functions by refracting the passing light withoutphysically moving the lens, it should be apparent that the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto.

The actuator (40) may be so configured as to perform a zooming functionand a shutter function in addition to the auto focusing and handshakecompensating functions. Furthermore, the actuator (40) may be replacedby any actuator capable of controlling one sheet of lens such as anactuator using a piezoelectric polymer and movable by usingelectrostatic force or a piezoelectric force.

That is, by way of non-limiting example, the actuator (40) may be anyone of a MEMS (Micro Electric Mechanical System) actuator capable ofmoving by using the electrostatic force or the piezoelectric force, aMEMS piezoelectric actuator, a MEMS bimorph actuator, an MEMS thermalactuator, a MEMS magnetic actuator, a MEMS liquid actuator, a non-MEMStype actuator, a silicon type actuator, and a liquid lens, or any typeof actuator that is configured by combination thereof.

Meanwhile, a metal-materialed shield can (50) wrapping the lateralsurface and the upper surface of the holder member (20) may beseparately formed at an outside of the holder member (20). In this case,an insulation member (45) such as an insulation epoxy may be positionedbetween the electronic circuit pattern (100) and the shield can (50),whereby short-circuit can be prevented between the electronic circuitpattern (100) and the shield can (50).

The insulation member (45) may perform the insulation function betweenthe electronic circuit pattern (100) and the shield can (50), and alsoperform attachment and fixation of the holder member (20) to the shieldcan (50). Meanwhile, an exposed surface of the electronic circuitpattern (100) formed on the upper surface of the shield can (50) and theupper surface of the holder member (20) is discrete at a predetermineddistance or disposed with an insulation member.

Meanwhile, the electronic circuit pattern (100) may be formed with anupper surface so divided as to have two to four arc-shaped surfaces. Inthe exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, as illustrated inFIG. 3, the upper surface of the holder member (20) is formed with atotal of four arc-shaped electronic circuit patterns (100).

The divided electronic circuit patterns (100) may be connected at oneend to the terminal (12) of the PCB (10) using a soldering, and may beconnected at the other end to the first and second terminals (42, 43) atthe first connection unit (41). At this time, each of the arc-shapedelectronic circuit patterns (100) may be symmetrically provided.

In a case the upper surface of the electronic circuit patterns (100) isformed with an arc shape, the first and second terminals (42, 43) can beconnected to the divided electronic circuit patterns (100) on aone-on-one base, even if the actuator (40) screw-connected to the uppersurface of the first lens (31) of the lens module (30) or fixed to theupper surface of the lens module (30) is stopped at any position.

Hence, in a case the first and second terminals (42, 43) connected tothe actuator (40) are mutually arranged at a diagonal position, theterminal (12) connected to respective electronic circuit patterns (100)connected by the first and second terminals (42, 43) is connected to ananode and a cathode respectively, whereby the first and second terminals(42, 43) are applied with an electric power of mutually differentpolarities.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 4, in a case the first terminal (42) isan anode and stops at the electronic circuit pattern (100) connected toa first terminal (12 a), the second terminal (43) is a cathode and stopsat the electronic circuit pattern (100) connected to a second terminal(12 b). Then, the first terminal (12 a) may be conductively connected toan anode terminal (13 a) and the second terminal (12 b) may beconductively connected to a cathode terminal (14 a).

Furthermore, albeit not being illustrated, in a case the first terminal(42) is an anode and stops at the electronic circuit pattern (100)connected to a third terminal (12 c), the second terminal (43) is acathode and stops at the electronic circuit pattern (100) connected to afourth terminal (12 d). Then, the third terminal (12 c) may beconductively connected to an anode terminal (13 c) and the fourthterminal (12 d) may be conductively connected to a cathode terminal (14c).

At this time, the first terminal (12 a) and the anode terminal (13 a),the second terminal (12 b) and the cathode terminal (14 a), the thirdterminal (12 c) and the anode terminal (13 c), the fourth terminal (12d) and the cathode terminal (14 c) may be connected using a soldering.

Meanwhile, albeit not being illustrated, in a case the actuator (40)fixed to the lens module (30) is rotated to be positioned at a quadrantof other electronic circuit pattern (100), it should be apparent thatthe third and fourth terminals (12 c, 12 d) connected to the otherelectronic circuit pattern (100) may be connected in the same manner asthat of the abovementioned exemplary embodiment.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the actuator (40) may beinstalled at the upper surface of the lens module (30), and formed witha size smaller than that of the first lens (31), the present disclosureis not limited thereto. That is, albeit not being illustrated, in a casethe actuator (40) is formed greater than the first lens (31), it ispossible to form a shape of the protrusion at the upper surface of theholder member (20) may be formed greater than what is shown in FIG. 1 tocorrespond to a diameter of the actuator (40).

The actuator (40) is centrally formed with an area through which lightcan pass, and an area except for the actuator (40) may be arranged witha light cut-off surface, or a light cut-off member, or a light-shieldingmember (33) to prevent the light from passing through. Thelight-shielding member (33) may be formed with a light cut-off memberusing a light cut-off surface coated on the extreme outer surface of thelens or a separate film member. Thus, only the light having passed theactuator (40) can be incident on the lens module (30), where the sizeand shape of the light passing area of the actuator (40) may bedetermined based on design specification. By way of non-limitingexample, a light passing area of the actuator (40) in FIG. 3 iscircularly formed to function as an aperture.

According to the abovementioned configuration, an exact connection withthe electronic circuit pattern (100) can be realized regardless ofposition of the lens module (30), and because the actuator (40) and thelens module (30) are arranged inside the holder member (20),miniaturization of a camera module can be advantageously carried out byreduced height of the camera module.

Furthermore, although the electronic circuit pattern (100) and theactuator (40), or the electronic circuit pattern (100) and the PCB (10)can be connected using a soldering, an Ag epoxy, a conductive epoxy or awire bonding, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and anyconfiguration is acceptable as long as it is a conductibleconfiguration.

Still furthermore, if the actuator (40) is configured with an LC lens, aliquid lens or a piezoelectric polymer lens, the electric powerconsumption is almost nil over a camera module with an actuator like aVCM (Voice Coil Motor) to enable a configuration of a camera module oflow power consumption.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to anumber of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood thatnumerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by thoseskilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of theprinciples of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A camera module, the camera module comprising: aPCB (Printed Circuit Board) mounted with an image sensor; a holdermember disposed on the PCB; a lens module screw-fixed to an innersurface of the holder member; an actuator disposed at an upper surfaceof the lens module, and arranged at a position lower than an uppersurface of the holder member; and an electronic circuit pattern formedon a surface of the holder member to electrically connect the PCB andthe actuator, wherein one end of the electronic circuit pattern iselectrically connected to the PCB and the other end of the electroniccircuit pattern is electrically connected to the actuator.
 2. The cameramodule of claim 1, wherein the other end of the electronic circuitpattern is connected to the actuator via a conductive epoxy.
 3. Thecamera module of claim 1, wherein the other end of the electroniccircuit pattern is connected to a terminal formed at the lens module andto a first connection unit, to thereby be conductible with the actuator.4. The camera module of claim 3, wherein the terminal is provided with afirst terminal and a second terminal, each of the first and secondterminals being applied with an electric power of mutually differentpolarity.
 5. The camera module of claim 3, wherein the terminal isconnected to the actuator and a second connection unit.
 6. The cameramodule of claim 5, wherein each of the first and second connection unitsis a conductive epoxy.
 7. The camera module of claim 6, wherein each ofthe first and second connection units is symmetrically formed relativeto an optical axis.
 8. The camera module of claim 3, wherein theelectronic circuit pattern is formed at a lateral surface of the holdermember, at an upper surface of the holder member, or on at least one ofthe lateral surface and the upper surface of the holder member.
 9. Thecamera module of claim 8, wherein each of the electronic circuitpatterns formed at the upper surface of the holder member takes a shapeof an arc and is symmetrically formed.
 10. The camera module of claim 9,wherein two to four electronic circuit patterns are provided, each layerhaving a shape of an arc.
 11. The camera module of claim 1, furthercomprising a shield can wrapping the lateral surface and the uppersurface of the holder member.
 12. The camera module of claim 11, whereinan insulation member is interposed between the shield can and the holdermember.
 13. The camera module of claim 1, wherein a diameter of theactuator is configured smaller than that of the lens module.
 14. Thecamera module of claim 1, wherein the lens module includes one or morelenses, and at least two terminals one end of which is connected to theactuator, and the other end of which is connected to the electroniccircuit pattern.
 15. The camera module of claim 1, wherein theelectronic circuit pattern is divided into four arcs at the uppersurface of the holder member, each arc selectively connected to an anodeterminal or to a cathode terminal.
 16. The camera module of claim 1,wherein the actuator includes any one of a MEMS (Micro ElectricMechanical System) actuator moved by using an electrostatic force and apiezoelectric force, a liquid crystal lens, a piezoelectric polymerlens, a non-MEMS actuator, a silicon type actuator, and a liquid lens,or a combination of at least two such actuators.
 17. The camera moduleof claim 1, wherein the actuator performs an auto focusing function or ahandshake compensation function through changes in thickness or shape ofa fixed lens or changes in refractive indexes of incident light.
 18. Thecamera module of claim 1, wherein the actuator is installed at aposition lower than an extreme upper end of the holder member.
 19. Thecamera module of claim 1, wherein the PCB includes first to fourterminals configured to supply an anode power or a cathode power to theelectronic circuit pattern, and the first/third terminals, and thesecond/fourth terminals are supplied with electric power of samepolarity, while the first/second terminals and the third/fourthterminals are supplied with electric power of mutually differentpolarities.